


Game Open

by Jugenmujugenmugokonosurikireka



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Gaming, Not Beta Read, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-27 20:46:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30128592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jugenmujugenmugokonosurikireka/pseuds/Jugenmujugenmugokonosurikireka
Summary: There were many E-sports teams, but between them all there was one that stood out above all others: The Crystal Gems. E-sports athletes, speedrunners, let's players, in all gaming categories the Crystal Gems let their names be known. Peridot has always dreamed of joining this great team, but the competition is fierce. If she wants to join the Crystal Gems, Peridot must be ready to do the impossible again and again.
Kudos: 2





	1. Game 1: Minemath

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this on my Tumblr account as a response to a writing prompt, but people seem to have liked the way the chapter ended up, so I decided to post it here as well. I really like the premise and I'll probably write a few more chapters later.

**Game 1: Minemath.**

“Hey, kid!” One of the civilians asked from below. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” The teenager answered calmly as she tried to clean her lenses with her shirt, having a hard time getting rid of that one annoying speck of dirt. “I’m just trying to clean my glasses real quick.”

“That’s not what I mean!” The civilian yelled, before she looked down from the top of the tree, to see a small crowd of people had gathered around. “How did you even get up there?”

“She helped Mr. Momo!” A little girl explained as she held up a white cat.

“I was riding my bike, but then I saw the girl had gotten her cat struck on the tree, so I used that ramp over there to jump all the way up here with the bike, and then I tossed the cat back to her.” The teenager explained, before she pointed at a broken down bike on the ground near the tree. “Although I ended up dropping the bike. I hope it didn’t break for real this time, because I think I’m still going to need it.”

“Who even are you?” Asked another one of the civilians.

“Name’s Peridot Greene.” The teenager explained, placing her glasses back over her green eyes as she calmly ran her hand through her blonde hair. “I’m a gamer.”

“What?” Another civilian asked in confusion.

“By the way, what time is it?” Peridot asked.

“09:30 AM.” The little girl explained, as the smile suddenly vanished from Peridot’s face.

“Oh no!” Peridot yelled, before she casually jumped out of the tree, safely landing on the sidewalk before running towards her bike. “I’m going to be late!”

“You could have come down the entire time?” The crowd yelled in conjunction, before Peridot tried to get on her bike, only for one of the wheels to fall off. Peridot’s eyes widened in surprise, before she quickly picked the entire bicycle up and began running with it as fast as she could.

“Sorry! No time to talk!” Peridot yelled as she ran down the street. “I have a game to win!”

* * *

E-sports, short for electronic sports, are a type of sports that mostly focus on the competitive play of video games. E-sports mostly focus on matches between professional players, particularly of multiplayer games. There were many E-sports teams, but between them all there was one that stood out above all others: The Crystal Gems!

“Did you seriously just play that?” Zircon asked as she gently pressed the buttons on her controller and looked up from the small holographic screen of her portable console to the giant screen right at the top of the large arena, to see the image of her Pocket Monster quickly attacking Bismuth’s Pocket Monster, the super effective strike lowering the Monster’s health bar to nearly zero. Zircon turned back to Bismuth and smirked. “You won’t get too far as a gamer if you can’t even remember what the type advantages are.”

“Don’t worry, I got them all memorized!” Bismuth declared confidently, as she pressed a button, and her Pocket Monster struck Zircon’s Monster back, instantly taking out the entire health bar as the Monster fainted. “I got that Monster by breeding two different species! It can learn a move from a type that it wouldn’t normally have! Impressed yet?”

“Don’t get cocky!” Zircon warned as she sent out her second Pocket Monster. “There is a lot more you’ll have to do if you want to join the Crystal Gems!”

All members of the Crystal Gems are carefully handpicked. They hold a yearly public gaming competition in an attempt to find new members. Those who wish to join them must prove themselves in game.

* * *

“Time is up.” One of the security guards explained. “We can close the door now.”

The other security guard nodded, before they quickly began to close the large metal gated leading to the large arena, when a small teenager suddenly came running down the streets and jumped right past them, just barely entering through the gate before they fully closed it.

“Hehe! I got here in time!” Peridot declared joyfully.

“You’re late, kid.” One of the guards declared. “Nobody is allowed to go inside after the gates are closed. Just a few more seconds and you’d be stuck outside.”

“Well, thank goodness for those seconds, then?” Peridot commented, before she ran towards the arena. “By the way, can you keep an eye on my bike? Thanks!”

The two guards turned, to see a small bicycle parked right in front of the building, before the bike suddenly fell to pieces for seemingly no reason.

* * *

“I did it!” Bismuth declared joyfully as she sat on one of the audience seats, before turning to a few other competitors. “Those examiners are no joke. That woman made me sweat more than any online ranked match ever did.”

She suddenly heard the sound of footsteps, before the door swung open and a small teenager ran in, quickly leaping into one of the seats.

“Hi! I’m Peridot!” She greeted with a wide smile. “Are you a competitor?”

“Yeah.” The muscular black woman answered, slightly taken back by Peridot’s excitement. It was hard to believe, but Bismuth was actually not that much older than Peridot, only beating her by three years.

“Look! Another match!” Peridot yelled as she pointed to the arena, and Bismuth looked to see a competitor and an examiner standing face to face, both holding controllers that were projecting holographic screens in front of them, the images in each of the holograms also being shown in the massive screen above them. “They’re playing Dogcopter Kart Deluxe! I love that one!”

“Feeling nervous?” Aquamarine asked as her kart drifted through the road, swiftly making its way towards the finishing line while leaving the competitor in the dust. “You’ll have to do something fast if you still want to win this race!”

The blue haired teenager did not respond and simply focused on her controller as she made her motorcycle hit the slight incline in the corner of the track, her vehicle jumping through the air and cutting the corner just slightly, which was enough of a shortcut for the motorcycle to nearly catch up to Aquamarine’s kart.

“You know how to do fancy tricks, hm?” Aquamarine commented. “I bet those will look really neat as you get second place!”

Aquamarine’s kart dashed through an item box, before suddenly slipping on a banana peel the competitor had placed there in the previous lap. Aquamarine gasped in surprise, before the competitor calmly pressed a button, and a lightning fell from the sky, striking Aquamarine’s kart, making it shrink just as the motorcycle flew past her and crossed the finishing line in first place.

“Examiner defeated!” The announcer declared. “Competitor wins!”

“Ugh! Come on!” Aquamarine complained, as the competitor calmly turned off her console and began walking away.

“Who was that?” Peridot asked curiously.

“I heard her name is Lapis Lazuli.” Bismuth explained. “She got first place in all local game tournaments those last months.”

“Wow!” Peridot declared with stars in her eyes.

* * *

“So you came after all Lazuli.” A large woman declared, as Lapis calmly sat on one of the audience seats. “Good. It would have been boring without you.”

“Jasper, are you going to keep bothering me all day? Because if so, I might just get up and leave.” Lapis declared.

“Go ahead, and then I’ll be the uncontested first place.” Jasper declared with a grin. “I thought the Crystal Gems had a higher standard. Most of the people here aren’t even worth the time it would take for me to crush them.”

“Wow! I just can’t wait to be your teammate.” Lapis answered sarcastically in an uninterested tone of voice.

* * *

“So, are you a gamer too?” Bismuth asked, before Peridot nodded. “Did you come here to watch the exams?”

“Oh, no, I’m a competing.” Peridot explained.

“But this was the last game.” Bismuth explained as she pointed at the people leaving the arena.

“What?” Peridot yelled in surprise.

* * *

“Was that the last one?” Squaridot asked as she watched over the arena alongside the other judges.

“Seems like it.” Zircon answered, before one of the security guards calmly approached her and whispered in her ear. “No, wait, one more competitor just arrived.”

“She just arrived?” Squaridot asked. “She’s late then.”

“She technically crossed the gate before they closed it. This means she gets one match just like everyone else.” Zircon explained as she calmly crossed her legs and cleaned her yellow monocle.

“Really? We’re letting her play because of a technicality?” Squaridot asked angrily. “She got here just a few moments before time was up.”

“It is what’s written in the contract. Everyone who gets in before the gates are closed gets one match.” Zircon explained as she placed her monocle back over her eye. “If you don’t like that, you can go complain to the boss.”

“Grrrr… fine! We’ll give her a match! But it will be by my terms!” Squaridot declared as she got up from the chair and walked away, Zircon staring at her curiously as she left.

* * *

“Now, for the final match of the day!” Declared the voice of an announcer, as Squaridot and Peridot made their way into the arena, coming in from different sides before they both stood a few meters away from each other. They turned on their consoles, as the floating holographic screens appeared. “The game will now be randomly selected!”

During the matches in the exams, the games that would be played would be selected at random, that way the competitors would have to practice multiple games equally in order to be ready for the exam. What nobody knew, however, was that Squaridot had tempered with the system for that specific match, that way she knew very well what game they would be playing.

“Minemath! Player Vs Player mode!” Declared the announcer.

“Yay! I love Minemath!” Peridot declared excitedly.

“You’re very loud, aren’t you?” Squaridot asked.

“Oh! I forgot to introduce myself!” Peridot declared. “My name is Peridot Greene!”

“I am the overseer of this exam. Squarious Julius Aranmadot.” Squaridot declared. “Squaridot for short.”

“Our names rhyme! How cool!” Peridot declared.

“Anyway, in case you don’t know how Player Vs Player mode works: we both get thrown into a randomly generated Minemath map with no items at the start, and our objective is to kill the other player. First one to die loses.” Squaridot explained, as Peridot nodded. “Some changes have been made from the normal Minemath. The first one is that we get an entire overview of the map before the game begins, and we get to choose our starting point, this is so we wouldn’t get lost and end up walking away from each other.”

Peridot nodded as her holographic screen showed an image of the game’s map. Peridot carefully looked the map over, analyzing each of the structures and biomes, before marking a spot to be her spawning point, just as Squaridot did the same with another spot.

“Alright, now for the most important change.” Squaridot declared. “All food has been removed from the game, and the ability to recover health has also been deactivated. We each start with ten hearts, and once you take damage, there is no way to heal.”

“Wow!” Peridot whispered with stars in her eyes. “This will be so much fun!”

“Overconfident, hm?” Squaridot thought as she watched Peridot’s excited reaction, before speaking up. “Game Open!”

The map suddenly vanished from their screen, before their characters immediately spawned on the locations they had selected, and their gameplay began being shown in the massive screen above them.

* * *

“Hm?” Jasper asked curiously. “Squaridot is playing?”

“What?” Lapis asked as she opened her eyes and turned to the arena. “I thought she was only here to oversee everything…”

* * *

“Alright!” Peridot declared with a smile as she spawned right in the middle of a desert village, before quickly running into one of the houses and taking a crafting table. “You can tell what is inside the houses by the shape of their ceiling!”

“Yeah, I know!” Squaridot declared as she spawned right between a desert biome and a forest biome. She ran towards one of the trees and quickly punched it down, taking exactly four blocks of wood. She opened her inventory and turned the blocks into sixteen planks. Four of the planks made a crafting table, which she put down before using two planks to make sticks, and using three more planks to make a wooden pickaxe. The entire process had taken less than a second.

“Wow! You’re quick!” Peridot commented. “Are you a speedrunner?”

Squaridot smirked confidently, before turning to the desert and running towards a nearby pyramid.

* * *

“Does that kid even know who she’s dealing with?” Bismuth thought as she watched over the match. “Squaridot is not just a random speedrunner, she is one of the best speedrunners. She’s been in the Top 12 Minemath runs for years. Every time someone managed to knock her out of 13th place, she just did another run and broke the record again. Peridot will be in trouble if she’s not careful.”

* * *

“Don’t worry! I’m a fast player too!” Peridot declared as she ran into the village, quickly collecting several hay bales. Peridot turned the bales into wheat, before running towards the village’s farmer and quickly trading them for three emeralds. Peridot ran towards the fisherman and traded the emeralds for a bucket with a cod, before tossing the cod away, obtaining a bucket of water. The entire process took only five seconds. “What do you think of that one?”

“A bucket of water?” Squaridot thought as she took a glance at Peridot’s side of the screen. “What is she planning?”

Squaridot reached the secret room inside the pyramid with her wooden pickaxe nearby breaking, careful not to trigger the TNT as she opened one of the chests, pulling out three iron ingots. Squaridot put down her crafting table and crafted an iron pickaxe, before beginning to dig down under her own feet.

“Mining under yourself?” Peridot asked in slight surprise. “That’s dangerous!”

* * *

“Damn that Squaridot.” Lapis whispered. “She skipped stone and went from wood straight into steel. The kid doesn’t even have a wooden sword yet.”

“This should end quickly.” Jasper commented calmly. “Maybe watching this could be a good practice if I ever have to match against Squaridot.”

“That poor kid. This is the worst match she could possibly get.” Lapis commented. “Literally any other game would be better to go against Squaridot. I don’t think anyone here can beat that woman at Minemath.”

* * *

“Let’s take a swim!” Peridot declared as she jumped into a nearby river, swiftly swimming to the bottom and breaking several blocks of gravel. She took eight blocks, before a piece of flint few out. She took the flint and went back to the surface.

“She took almost ten seconds to do that one. She’ll never beat me if she’s so slow.” Squaridot thought to herself as she continued digging downwards, before suddenly stopping and beginning to dig a tunnel. “y11. Perfect.”

Peridot went towards the Iron Giant, before leaping and placing three blocks under herself. She began leaping in place while striking the Iron Giant with her fists, the Iron Giant not being able to strike her from the top of the blocks.

“Iron Giants’ hitbox only reaches two blocks up. It can’t hit me as long as I’m three blocks above it.” Peridot explained as she continued to strike the Giant. “If you hit a mob while falling, it will take critical damage, and if I manage to kill an Iron Giant, there is a chance that it will drop…”

The Iron Giant fell to the ground and died, before dropping three iron ingots.

“Iron!” Peridot declared as she leaped down from above the blocks, taking half a heart of fall damage as she took the iron ingots and began running as fast as she could.

* * *

“That idiot! Why didn’t she just break the blocks under herself?” Bismuth thought in surprise. “She just took damage for no reason just to save a few seconds!”

* * *

“It seems like this is going to end sooner than I had thought!” Squaridot declared while laughing confidently as she continued mining, before finding two ores of blue stones. She swiftly mined them, before opening her crafting table and building a diamond sword. “You’re done for!”

* * *

“What? That’s impossible!” Bismuth suddenly yelled in shock as she stared at the screen with wide eyes. “It’s only been two minutes since the match started and she already has diamond! A diamond sword takes three and a half hearts! It does 150% more damage when the hit is critical! Just two hits and Peridot’s health bar will be gone!”

* * *

“Are you scared, kid?” Squaridot asked as she quickly made her way back through the tunnel and began using blocks to climb back to the surface. “I’m coming for you.”

“You got diamond that fast?” Peridot asked in surprise, before she suddenly smiled with stars in her eyes. “It will be so cool when I beat you!”

“Hm?” Squaridot asked, slightly taken back by Peridot’s response.

“Lava pools are twice more likely to form in deserts!” Peridot declared as she placed two gravel blocks in the lava, before throwing the water from her bucket on top of it. She let the water flow for just long enough for the first blocks of lava around the gavel to turn into obsidian, before taking the water back with the bucket. She broke the two gravel blocks she had placed, and then placed three gravel blocks on the ground right next to the obsidian she had just created, with a forth block sticking out from the top in the direction of the obsidian. She placed three other blocks on the ground around the obsidian, before dropping her water between the blocks she had placed, creating a continuous stream of water that did not touch any of the lava. “Wanna see a magic trick?”

Peridot took a bucket of lava, and began dropping it around the stream of water, creating obsidian blocks as the water and lava touched. Peridot carefully created the blocks in the exact position she needed, forming the shape of a portal. She took out the water with her bucket, before using the flint and iron she had taken to craft flint and steel. She lit up the portal, dropped the water to empty up her bucket, and jumped in.

“See you in hell! Hehe!” Peridot joked.

“A portal to hell?” Squaridot thought. “What is she planning?”

Peridot spawned in a random point in hell, quickly filling her bucket with lava and beginning to run around the lava lake as fast as she could, carefully not to touch the magma.

“Why, you little…” Squaridot complained as she ran through the desert village where Peridot had first spawned, swiftly making her way to the desert in search of the portal. “You won’t escape from me!”

* * *

“What does she plan to do with a Hell Fortress?” Lapis asked.

“Hm?” Jasper asked.

“She’s searching for a Hell Fortress. Fortresses spawn more frequently while in open areas, like the surroundings of lava rivers for example.” Lapis explained. “She is searching for a Hell Fortress.”

* * *

“Haha! Found it!” Peridot declared as she spotted a Hell Fortress in the distance.

“And I am about to find you, you brat!” Squaridot declared as she jumped through the portal, spawning in Hell as she swiftly chased after Peridot. Peridot entered the fortress and began to run through it, just as Squaridot saw the fortress in the distance and entered it, closely chasing Peridot. “Get back here, you brat! I’ll chase you to the ends of this Earth!”

“Oh, come as close as you like!” Peridot declared with a smile as she went around a corner, Squaridot chasing after her, before suddenly being struck by a fireball, her body lightning on fire. Squaridot looked up to see several burning mobs firing at her. “Blazing spawner! I knew it was here because I heard their sound effects!”

* * *

“What?” Jasper asked as she got up from her seat and stared down at the two players in surprise. “Squaridot just got hit? This has never happened before in a PvP!”

Lapis stared at Peridot with a curious expression, as the small gamer smiled confidently.

* * *

“You idiot! The Blazings will attack you as well!” Squaridot declared as she struggled to avoid the fireballs from the mobs, striking several of them down only for more of them to spawn. “I entered this room with full health, while you lost half a heart! You will die first!”

“That’s what you think!” Peridot asked, as the Blazings fired at her, only for their fireballs to go right through her. Squaridot stared at her in surprise for a few seconds, until she realized where Peridot was standing. “When you stand on a block that has a fence on it, fireballs cannot hit you, since they’re redirected to hit the fence instead! Fences won’t catch on fire so it can’t burn me!”

“Grrr…” Squaridot growled in anger, as she turned to look the spawner. It was too far away, and her pickaxe was made of iron, if she tried to break it, the Blazings would kill her first, and even if she did successfully break it, her health would be so low that Peridot could finish her off with a critical. Squaridot turned to Peridot’s character angrily and began running towards her. “I’ll just have to kill you first!”

“Good luck with that, you clod!” Peridot declared with a smile, as she dropped the lava from her bucket right in front of Squaridot, the lava burning right through her last hearts, as Squaridot’s character fell dead, her dropped items burning in the lava.

“Squaridot tried to swim in lava.” Declared the game over screen.

“No!” Squaridot yelled in surprise.

* * *

“She did it!” Bismuth celebrated as she jumped off her seat and punched the air excitedly.

* * *

“Hey, is this serious?” Jasper asked in surprise, as Lapis smirked and got up from her seat, crossing her arms.

“This is going to be an interesting year.” Lapis commented before walking away.

“Just who the hell is that brat?” Jasper asked angrily as she looked down at the smiling Peridot.

* * *

“B-but… I’m in the Top 12…” Squaridot whispered, astonished by her defeat as she let go of her controller and fell to her knees.

“Examiner defeated!” The announcer declared. “Competitor wins!”

“Game over!” Peridot declared, as she winked and gave thumbs up while smiling widely.

* * *

“It was very impressive what you did back there?” Peridot heard as she left the arena, before she turned to see Lapis leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. “I legitimately thought it would be impossible for you to beat Squaridot, yet you did.”

“Thanks.” Peridot declared with a smile. “I love Minemath so I practice a lot.”

“Don’t get overconfident.” Lapis warned as she stared at Peridot with a serious expression. “You’re not a Crystal Gem yet. Now that we won, we’re all on their radar, but they will only pick those who stand out. If you want to enter that team, from now on you will have to do the impossible again and again.”

Peridot stared at Lapis with a curious expression for a few seconds, before her expression changed into one of seriousness, and she nodded. Lapis smiled, before she began walking away. Peridot turned to the giant screen, which now only showed the logo of the Crystal Gems.

“Do the impossible again and again?” Peridot thought with a smile. “Alright then! The game is on!”

**To be continued.**


	2. Game 2: Great Thief of Automobiles

**Game 2: Great Thief of Automobiles.**

“And that is why Maximum Effect 3 is actually an underrated gem.” Peridot explained proudly as they all sat together inside the large helicopter, Bismuth listening carefully to her.

“She’s been talking for three hours...” One of the other passengers complained in a whisper.

“It’s only been thirty minutes.” Another passenger corrected.

“Yeah, but it sure does feel like three hours!”

“Speaking of underrated gems, Super Paper Dogcopter is actually one of the deepest and most well written games in the entire industry.” Peridot explained while raising one of her fingers. “First of all, the villain’s entire character arc represents-”

“Hey, look.” Lapis pointed. “We’re about to arrive.”

They all looked out the window, to see they were approaching a large facility, featuring several large and separate buildings within it, each of them large enough to easily be confused by a castle, and all surrounded by a massive stone wall, separating them from a large forest on one side and a small town on the other. Peridot stared at the location with stars in her eyes as she gasped silently, before a large smile formed on her face as the helicopter began landing.

“This is going to be one hell of a summer!” Peridot declared excitedly.

* * *

“This place is huge!” Peridot shouted as she ran into the large building, quickly being followed by Zircon and the other helicopter passengers.

“Peridot, please don’t run ahead.” Zircon ordered calmly as she walked past the little nerd. “We don’t want any of you to get lost.”

“Sorry. Hehe.” Peridot apologized with a smile as she scratched the back of her head, before she continued to look around the building. The place was big and well decorated, featuring several doors leading to several rooms. The place was certainly designed to house a large amount of people. They went through a large pair of doors and entered a massive room filled with several chairs, before three other pairs of doors in the other sides of the room opened, and three other instructors entered, each of them followed by another large group of people. “Hi, Squaridot!”

“Ugh!” Squaridot groaned in annoyance as she saw Peridot waving at her from the other group.

“Everybody, please seat down.” Zircon explained, before they all did so.

“There are a lot of people here, hm?” Peridot commented as she sat next to Bismuth while looking around the room.

“Can you settle down for just a moment?” Bismuth asked as she looked at a large stage right in the center of the room, the lights slowly going out. “This sound important.”

The entire room seemed to go dark, when a single spotlight appeared right on top of the stage, before there was a small explosion of smoke, and a tall woman appeared seemingly out of nowhere right in the middle of the stage. The woman seemed old enough to be a mother, but not enough to be a grandmother. Her white hair looked like it had taken all morning to prepare, and her white dress and cape were glowing with glitter. She spread her arms joyfully as she approached her microphone.

“Oh my God! It’s Prince!” Peridot declared, before Bismuth quickly shushed her.

“Welcome, players! I am the mastermind behind the Crystal Gems! My name is Christine Diamond, but you can all call me by my stage name: White Diamond!” She declared, clearly enjoying every second of the spotlight and attention. “I want to formally welcome you to the official Crystal Gems E-sports Academy! You will all spend your following summers here, where your skills as a gamer will be tested and challenged! You’ve all got past the initial tests, meaning you are the best, but the we will only accept the best of the best! Whichever one of you stands above all others will get the opportunity to join the greatest of all E-sports teamx! The Crystal Gems!”

Peridot looked around the room for a few seconds as she finally realized the implication. All of the people in that room, she would have to surpass every last one of them. Stars appeared in Peridot’s eyes as she smiled excitedly. This was going to be so fun.

“If you want to get to such a desired position, you must go the distance and evolve! It will not be easy, but what are games without challenges?” White Diamond declared to the microphone. “All players will be divided in four courts, each building being overseen by a different leader, including yours truly.”

“Courts, hm?” Peridot asked as she turned to look back at White Diamond.

“Oh yeah, I heard about this.” Bismuth explained. “They do that so it would be easier to focus on the players, since each court is only responsible for one fourth of the total amount of people. Players will generally identify a lot with their court, and sometimes there is even some rivalry between the four.”

“Oh!” Peridot whispered. “So that’s what it was!”

“The four courts are…” White Diamond declared, her voice echoing across the room. “The White Court, known for its perfectionism and attention to detail! The Pink Court, known for unwavering determination and hard work! The Blue Court, known for great intelligence and excellent strategy! Last but not least, the Yellow Court, known for their courage and ambition! Remember those values and let them guide through your journey!”

“This is so exciting! I wonder how they are going to pick our courts!” Peridot whispered with stars in her eyes. “Are they going to make us wear magic hats that are going to read our potential and choose it for us?”

“Your courts have already been chosen based on your performance in the entrance exam!” White Diamond explained.

“Oh, that makes more sense.” Peridot shrugged.

“Zircon, Aquamarine, Squaridot, Holly Blue, please give the players their cards.” White Diamond declared as she clapped her hands, and the lights instantly turned back on as the four made their way to the players, each of them holding a large box filled with envelopes. “Those cards are what are allow you to enter your dormitories. They were each specifically made just for you. Be careful not to lose them.”

Zircon handed envelopes to several of the players, before she reached Peridot and Bismuth, calmly handing one envelop to each of them before moving on. Peridot looked down at the envelope in her hands, realizing it had her name written on it. She heard a ripping sound and turned to Bismuth, who had just ripped the envelope open to pull out a pink plastic card, which had Bismuth’s name and picture on it.

“It seems like I’ve been put in the Pink Court.” Bismuth explained.

“Cool.” Peridot commented, before she gently opened her envelope and pulled out her card. Peridot gasped for a second as she stared at the card in silence. Bismuth turned to her after a few moments to see Peridot’s eyes glued to the card.

“Peridot, are you okay?”

“I’m in the Yellow Court!” Peridot declared quietly, before she turned to Bismuth and smiled widely. “It’s just like I’ve always dreamed!”

“Please, players, follow your guides to your dormitories. Your tests will begin tomorrow, so make sure to be well rested.” White Diamond declared as the challengers made their way out of the room. “And don’t forget to stay shining, starlights!”

* * *

“Welcome to your dormitories.” Zircon declared as they all approached a large yellow building. “Please use your cards to unlock your rooms.”

The players approached the doors and noticed small barcode readers on the wall right next to the doors. Peridot carefully placed the card right in front of the reader, which instantly scanned it before the door unlocked. Peridot looked at the card and smiled, before entering her room and turning on the lights. It wasn’t a very large room, featuring two beds, one large TV, one closet, a door leading to a bathroom, a little mini-freezer, and a single window.

“You can use anything in the rooms. Curfew is at 00:07 PM. Please do not make too much noise during the night.” Zircons explained before walking away. “Enjoy your stay.”

“This is so cool! I have room all to myself!” Peridot declared excitedly as she jumped on the bed, bouncing for a moment on the soft mattress. She looked around for a few more moments with stars in her eyes, before the closet caught her attention. She got up from the bed and made her way to the wardrobe, opening it to find a single piece of clothing inside. She took it out and stared at it with stars in her eyes.

* * *

“Hey, Bismuth!” Peridot called as she ran into the cafeteria, before sitting right next to her muscular friend.

“Oh, hi Peridot.” Bismuth greeted, holding a cup of coffee in her hands. “I see you’re wearing uniform.”

“Yeah. Isn’t it neat?” Peridot asked as she showed off her outfit. She wore a green sleeveless V-neck uniform with a yellow diamond symbol right on her chest and on each of her knees. “Did you not get one?”

“I did, but they’re not obligatory.” Bismuth explained, before taking a sip of her coffee. “So, what do you think of the place?”

“It is awesome! It’s like an entire castle filled with video games!” Peridot declared, before she got distracted by a quiet little theme song she heard coming from a nearby room. “Hey, I know this music!”

Peridot quickly got up and ran out of the cafeteria. Bismuth stared at her as she left, before calmly getting up and following her, taking another sip of her coffee as she left the room. The two entered another nearby room, which was a large stadium surrounded by several chairs, and looked up at a large screen to see the image of a blue porcupine running and jumping through a hill filled with green grass.

“I knew I recognized the music!” Peridot declared with a smile. “It’s Flashy the Porcupine!”

“The definition on that image is so high! The frame rate is impeccable too!” Bismuth declared with stars in her eyes as she looked up at the massive screen. “It isn’t lagging at all! I bet the controls must be very clean as well!”

The porcupine ran through the stage as fast as he could, before swiftly crossing the goal and running past the screen.

“29 seconds?” They heard, as they turned around to see two players, one of them holding a controller. “That’s the exact same time I got last time! I have to complete this stage faster, or else I’ll never be a Crystal Gem!”

“Alright, my turn.” The other player declared, as he grabbed the control. “What’s the world record for this level again?”

“24 seconds.” The two heard, before they turned to see Peridot running towards them, Bismuth following her closely. “Although 9 seconds does put you just past the Top 50.”

“Hey, you’re that kid who beat Squaridot, aren’t you?” Asked the player, before Peridot smirked confidently.

“Do the Crystal Gems play with technology like this all the time?” Bismuth asked as she looked up at the screen. “I’ve never seen a gameplay so clean.”

“Yeah. Those are used for practice.” He explained. “There are bunches of gaming rooms around the place, and they’re free for players to use. Just find one that isn’t occupied and begin playing.”

“30 seconds? Really?” Complained the other player.

“Just out of the Top 50! Damn!” Peridot declared, before the other player began laughing.

“Look who it is.” They heard, before they turned around to see a large muscular woman, even more muscular than Bismuth, and long hair looking down upon them from one of the chairs above the stadium. “If it isn’t the one and only Minemath queen.”

“Who are you?” Peridot asked.

“That’s Jasper.” Bismuth explained. “She’s a gaming champion back home. The only person who has ever been able to challenge her was Lapis.”

“Oh, I know Lapis!” Peridot commented with a smile before she turned to Jasper. “Hi! My name is Per-”

“How did you beat Squaridot?” Jasper interrupted. “As much as I hate to admit it, Squaridot is a better Minemath player than even me, and then you just came out of nowhere and dethroned her.”

“I practice a lot, and I know a few tricks.” Peridot bragged. “Plus, I am pretty skilled, if I say so myself.”

“Oh, I’d like to take a look at that skill.” Jasper challenged.

“Oh yeah?” Peridot answered with a smirk. “Then pick a game and let’s go!”

“Hm?” One of the players asked in surprise. “Does she know who she’s talking to?”

“No.” Bismuth answered calmly.

“Is she crazy?” Asked another player.

“Yes.” Bismuth answered.

“Very well then.” Jasper declared. “I’ll choose a game and we’ll meet here at 08:00 PM.”

“But curfew is at 07:00 PM.” Bismuth added. “You’ll both be in trouble if you get caught playing here in the middle of the night.”

“She can run away if she wants.” Jasper teased with a confident smile. “That is fine by me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there.” Peridot explained with a smile, as she began making her way towards the door. “But you better pick a good game. If you show up with Hyperpunk 2077, I’m out.”

Jasper’s smile dropped, changing into an expression of anger as Peridot left the room, being followed shortly by Bismuth.

“That cocky bastard…” Jasper whispered. “I’ll show her…”

* * *

“You know she’s going to beat you, right?” Bismuth asked as the two sat inside Peridot’s room.

“Don’t worry, I got this.” Peridot commented. “So, what’s with this Jasper? She’s in the Yellow Court too, isn’t she? How does she play?”

“She’s a great strategist, and also very aggressive. She’s going to try to get rid of you as fast as she possibly can. She is never scared to jump straight into the offensive. It is not that surprising that she ended up in the Yellow Court.” Bismuth explained. “It is kind of weird that she went out of her way to challenge you. She generally lets others challenge her.”

“I must be really special, hm?” Peridot commented with a smirk.

“You’re very egocentric.” Bismuth commented, making Peridot’s smirk drop for a moment. The two heard a small ringtone, before Bismuth reached for her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, calmly turning off the alarm before getting up. “00:07 PM. You’ve got one hour until your match against Jasper.”

“Will you be there?” Peridot asked as she got up and followed Bismuth to the door.

“You really think I’ll let you go out there on your own at night?” Bismuth joked. “You’d burn the entire place down in the first thirty minutes.”

“True.” Peridot shrugged as the two left her room and took a few steps outside, when another player suddenly ran by and bumped into Peridot, nearly sending her to the ground before Bismuth caught her in the last second. “Hey! I’m walking here!”

“No running, please.” They heard, before they turned to see a tall woman passing by, wearing yellow uniform covered by a large yellow overcoat. “You won’t be punished as long as you’re in your dormitories by 07:30 PM.”

“Who’s that?” Peridot whispered, as the tall woman walked away and entered one of the dormitories.

“Patti Diamond, but everyone calls her Yellow Diamond.” Bismuth whispered back. “She’s the leader of the Yellow Court. I heard she is tough as nails. You’ll be in serious trouble if she find out you’re not in your dormitory at night.”

Peridot nodded, before Bismuth walked away from the yellow dormitories and made her way to the pink building in the distance. Peridot waved goodbye to her, before turning around, only to see Jasper staring directly at her from the other side of the building. The two stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, Jasper keeping an unmoving serious expression, before turning away from Peridot and walking into her dormitory, slamming the door behind her.

“Alright then, Jasper…” Peridot whispered, before she smiled widely. “Let’s see what you can do!”

* * *

“I can’t see a thing.” Peridot whispered as the two sneaked their way through the dark corridors.

“What did you expect? This place wasn’t made to be used at night.” Bismuth whispered back as she carefully searched for the button on the wall, and pressed it before the automatic doors opened. The two entered the gaming room, Peridot nearly tripping before Bismuth caught her, when the lights suddenly turned themselves on, and the two turned to see Jasper standing on the other side of the room.

“Was she just standing there in the dark the entire time?” Peridot asked.

“Will you turn off this light?” Bismuth asked. “We’re going to get caught for sure if anyone see this.”

“What? Are you scared of a little light show?” Jasper asked sarcastically as she made her way towards the center of the arena. “Regardless, with or without light, the gunshots are prone to make a bunch of noise either way.”

“Gunshots, hm?” Peridot asked as she approached Jasper, with her control in hands.

“We’re going to be playing a PvP match of Great Thief of Automobiles: Online!” Jasper declared.

“GTA: Online? I dig it!” Peridot declared confidently.

“GTA: Online?” Bismuth asked.

“It began as just an online mode for GTA 5, but it has evolved so much that many now consider it a separate game altogether.” Bismuth heard, before she turned around to see Lapis Lazuli entering the room. “It is a multiplayer open world action game where the player takes control over a criminal and must commit crimes to complete the missions.”

“So you’ve come too, Lazuli?” Jasper asked as she turned to Lapis, while Peridot only gave Lapis a curious quick glance, before turning back to Jasper.

“I want to see how this will turn out.” Lapis explained calmly.

“Very well.” Jasper declared with a confident smile, before she turned back to Peridot to see she had the exact same expression on her face. “We’ll both begin on different sides of a pre-chosen area near the edge of the map, but we are allowed to leave the area and explore the rest of the city if needed. Both start with no weapons, and we both begin with five hundred thousand dollars from the game’s pre-order bonus. The game has been modded to make so neither can regain health nor re-spawn. No police officers either, I don’t want you calling an army to help you out. First one to die loses.”

“Sounds simple enough.” Peridot shrugged with a smile, as Jasper’s expression changed into one of slight anger.

“Game Open!” The two declared in unison.

The two spawned near the ocean in different sides of the area, not being able to see each other, before they swiftly began running in the same direction, heading towards the same building as fast as they could.

“They’re going straight into a fist fight?” Bismuth asked as she looked at the screen.

“Of course they aren’t.” Lapis answered, before Bismuth turned to see Lazuli staring at the screen calmly with her arms crossed. “I can tell they’ve both played on this map before, or at least they know what the map is like. You see that building they’re running towards? There is a sniper rifle right at the top. Whoever gets it will have this match in the bag. There is also a parachute right next to it, but the rifle is the most important one.”

“So it’s a race to the top.” Bismuth nodded.

“Not exactly.” Lapis explained. “They spawned on different sides of the building. The building isn’t symmetrical, both sides are different. This means that…”

“I’m going to get there first!” Peridot declared as her character swiftly began going up the ladder, while Jasper’s character began making its way around the building. “I spawned closer to the ladder and both characters run at the exact same speed! I’ll already be near the top by the time you begin climbing!”

Just as Peridot had said, Jasper’s character made her way around the building and reached the bottom of the ladder, just as Peridot’s character was nearly reaching the top of the building. Jasper began climbing, as Peridot reached the top and made her way to the rifle.

“She’s gonna win!” Bismuth declared confidently.

“Peridot, you idiot!” Lapis whispered, making Bismuth turn to her in confusion. She turned back to the screen, just in time to see Jasper’s character suddenly flying up the ladder into midair, before falling and landing right in front of Peridot, catching the rifle just a few frames before her, and shooting Peridot right in the chest, reducing Peridot’s health bar to half.

“What was that?” Bismuth asked in surprise.

“Ladder launch.” Peridot declared in a serious tone of voice as she continued to stare at the screen. “There is a glitch in the game that allows you to launch yourself up ladders into midair. Peridot is doomed.”

Jasper reloaded her rifle and prepared to fire, but Peridot quickly leaped out of the building. Peridot pressed the button and used the parachute she had just picked up to fall slowly. Jasper once again aimed and prepared to fire, when Peridot suddenly released her parachute and went into freefall, quickly hitting the ocean and beginning to swim away underwater.

“Jasper can’t aim with a sniper while she’s underwater, because she can’t see her.” Lapis commented. “Clever.”

“Shouldn’t that fall have killed her?” Bismuth asked. “Even in water, that height was more than enough to kill the character through fall damage.”

“If you pull out your parachute and then release it, falling into water won’t kill you, regardless of height.” Lapis explained. “It probably has something to do with the parachute limiting fall damage, or whatever. I’m not sure how it works, I just play the game really fast.”

Peridot went around the area and hid at a spot out of Jasper’s sight before coming out for air. Jasper tried to aim for a few seconds, but there was another building blocking her view. She swiftly turned around and began going down the ladder. If she couldn’t snipe Peridot from that position, all she had to do is find a better one. Peridot crawled out of the water as fast as she could and ran towards a parked car, breaking open the window and running inside. Her character took a few seconds to turn the car on before she drove away from the area.

“Oh, no you won’t!” Jasper declared as she swiftly shot the driver of a car on the road, the shot fired so fast that the camera changing to the scope seemed to be just a flicker. She calmly ran towards the car and pushed away the dead driver, before driving after Peridot.

“Peridot is on the run!” Bismuth declared.

“This is bad for her.” Lapis explained. “She only has half of her health left and is unarmed. Jasper has full health and a sniper rifle. Peridot won’t last a second if Jasper catches up to her.”

“Oh, don’t worry! I won’t be unarmed for long!” Peridot declared loudly, nearly shouting as she parked her car in front of the gun store and swiftly began making her way towards it, just as Jasper jumped out of her car right on the other side of the street. Jasper swiftly fired just as Peridot opened the doors, the scope once again being just a flicker, but Peridot got out of the way by moving left just at the last second, and the bullet just barely missing her before the door closed.

“She missed!” Bismuth declared with a smile.

“No. She did not.” Lapis declared.

The owner of the store suddenly pulled out a shotgun and aimed it at Peridot before firing. Peridot quickly took cover, waiting for him to fire and begin reloading, before getting out of her cover and punching the store owner in the face, knocking him down before stealing his shotgun and taking cover behind the counter.

“The owner of the gun store will fire back if a player tries to attack him.” Lapis explained. “Both Peridot and Jasper are players, so he took Jasper’s sniper bullet as being an attack and began firing back. Peridot could easily have died if she hadn’t been quick enough. She’s lucky that he missed the first shot.”

“Wait, he missed?” Bismuth asked in slight confusion.

“That was your plan, wasn’t it?” Jasper asked in a mocking tone as her character began running towards the gun store. “You wanted me to follow you into the store and try to shoot you, that way the store owner would target me and I’d die first!”

“Ugh!” Peridot whispered as she clenched her teeth. “You saw right through it… but you made a grave mistake!”

“What would that be?” Jasper asked, as she quickly ran into the store and shot Peridot right in the chest.

“It’s over.” Lapis declared as she closed her eyes. “With her health that low, one sniper bullet is enough to kill the character. Peridot has lost.”

Lapis suddenly heard the loud sound of a gunshot, and opened her eyes to see Jasper’s health had suddenly dropped and was blinking red. Peridot reloaded her shotgun and prepared to fire again, but Jasper quickly ran out of the store and took cover behind the wall. Peridot quickly took cover behind the counter.

“You forgot to check why I had moved left!” Peridot declared.

“She bought a bullet proof vest!” Bismuth declared in surprise. “That’s why the shotgun didn’t kill her! He didn’t miss!”

“Back when she entered the store, she didn’t move just to dodge Jasper’s bullet, she turned left to reach for the vests!” Lapis declared in surprise. “And since she took the shotgun from the owner, she also has an even stronger weapon than Jasper! One more shot and Jasper is done for!”

“Peridot is going to win!” Bismuth declared.

“Don’t get too confident!” Lapis warned, as she paid attention to the empty armor bar next to Peridot’s health. “She got shot by a shotgun and a sniper rifle. That was more than enough to use up the entire vest. Now that Peridot has no armor, Jasper only needs one shot to finish her off with a sniper. Jasper’s weapon has a longer range, so she could just move away and shot from there, but… Peridot, you clever bastard!”

“What did she do?” Bismuth asked.

“Peridot is hidden inside a building with no windows, and both doors are closed. Jasper can’t snipe her from a distance, because she wouldn’t be able to see Peridot with her scope.” Lapis explained. “The only way Jasper can shoot her is if she enters the store. This would put Jasper right into Peridot’s range.”

“It seems like we have a classic Mexican stand-off over here!” Peridot declared with a large smile. “Whoever pulls the trigger faster wins! Who is going to be the quickest? Who is going to be the luckiest?”

“Do you have to be so annoying every time you do anything?” Jasper asked.

“Nah. I just wanted to piss you off before I killed you.” Peridot answered sarcastically.

Jasper swiftly ran into the store and aimed, just as Peridot aimed at her from behind the counter, the two pointing their weapons at each other simultaneously. The two characters only stared at each other for a fraction of a second, but it felt like minutes as the two players pulled the triggers at the exact same time, before the screen suddenly went black and the game shut itself off.

“Hm?” Peridot asked.

“What the hell?” Jasper asked angrily.

“Jasper Johnson and Peridot Greene.” They heard, before they turned to see Yellow Diamond standing on the other side of the room, staring at them with a serious expression. “I believe the other two are from the Blue and Pink Court.”

“I… um…” Peridot mumbled as she scratched the back of her head. “I can explain-”

“We’ll talk about this tomorrow.” Yellow Diamond decided loudly. “Return to your dormitories immediately.”

“Yes, ma’am!” The four answered in unison, before they quickly ran out of the room, Jasper leaving through the door on the left, while Peridot and the others left through the door on the right.

* * *

“I told you this was a bad idea!” Bismuth declared as the three left the building, standing outside in the dark, with only the stars and the full moon illuminating the area.

“You sure did.” Peridot answered with a smile. “I hope our punishment tomorrow isn’t anything too boring. I have attention deficiency.”

“You never get worried about anything, do you?” Lapis asked, before Peridot just smiled and scratched the back of her head in response, before Lapis closed her eyes and leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. “Congratulations on what you did back there. Not many people can get Jasper to sweat like that.”

“Thanks.”

“It just sucks that we won’t ever know which one of you would have won.” Lapis commented.

“Oh, no. Jasper won.” Peridot explained, before Lapis opened her eyes and stared at her with a confused expression.

“How would you know?” Lapis asked.

“We pulled the triggers at the same time, but sniper bullets travel faster than shotgun bullets.” Peridot explained with a smile and a shrug. “Since we both fired at the same time, if the game hadn’t turned off, her bullet would have reached me first and I would have died just a few frames before her. It would have been game over for me.”

“I… didn’t even know that was a thing…” Lapis whispered.

“I’ll have to practice a lot if I want to beat Jasper next time.” Peridot declared confidently. “I can’t stay behind her forever. Not if I want to join the Crystal Gems.”

“You truly are something, aren’t you?” Lapis asked with a laugh, before she turned around and began walking away. “Thanks for the show. It was quite an entertaining match. Good luck trying to beat Jasper. I can assure you, my ex-girlfriend isn’t going to let you get ahead of her that easily.”

“Of course she won’t. What would be the fun in that?” Peridot asked confidently, before her smile suddenly dropped and she turned to Lapis with a surprised expression. “Wait, ex-girlfriend?”

“Peridot, let’s go before Yellow diamond comes back.” Bismuth declared as she took Peridot by the hand and the two began running away from the building.

“Ex-girlfriend… hm?” Peridot whispered as the two left the dark area.

**To be continued.**


End file.
